Christmas is a Special Time
by appa-appa-away
Summary: Merry Christmas one and all. The war is over, but there are still just a couple of loose ends to tie up before that special day. Have a good one! Christmas really is a special time. Includes Zutara/Taang/Sukka and more. Now edited and reposted.


**Hello one and all and welcome to my Christmas Special! I thought this up for fun at the very start of the month, wrote it and decided I'd air it today (Christmas Eve). Well, I hope you all enjoy it. Please R&R**

**Btw, if you haven't joined 'Team Zutara', please take a look at my profile page. ;)**

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**Christmas is a Special Time**

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**Mai and Ty Lee – The Palace**

Ty Lee sang at the top of her lungs as she lay the presents underneath the Christmas tree.

"Deck the halls with bounds of holly, fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! T'is the season to be jolly, fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!"

Mai sighed and let a small smile grace her lips. It was Christmas Eve; why not smile for a change?

Ty Lee could get really annoying sometimes and normally, now would be one of those times. But everything was so perfect right now; Mai just couldn't bring herself to be pissed off at her.

Ty Lee got annoying, but when Mai really thought about it, she wouldn't have it any other way.

**

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**Azula and Ozai – In Prison**

Azula hugged her legs as she peeked out her window. There were so many lights and everything looked warm and welcoming in the city. She secretly wished she could be down there, enjoying all of the celebration.

There were some small, soft snowflakes, drifting down from the sky. It amazed the Princess; she'd never known snow to fall in the Fire Nation before.

She shivered slightly at a breeze and retreated back into her cell, away from the window.

Azula leaned against the bars that separated her from her father.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think we're ever going to get out of here?"

"I don't think they're just going to let us out, but if we try and escape…" he looked hopefully at her. It was a possibility if they put their heads together, but each time he suggested it, she seemed less and less enthusiastic about it. Did she want to just stay in here until someone actually let her free?

"Dad, do you think they could ever forgive us?"

Ozai sighed. So, it really had come down to this. She was so bored of being locked away and being hated that she was actually seeking a second chance with the world.

"I don't know. Perhaps if we're lucky. But we'd really have to prove to them that we've changed."

Azula smiled to herself. She turned to face the man on the other side of the bars.

"Dad?"

"What is it, Azula?"

"Merry Christmas."

Ozai couldn't help but smile to that, "Merry Christmas, my Princess."

With that, he put an arm through the bars and hugged his daughter, for the first time in years.

**

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**Aang and Toph – The Royal Gardens**

The turtle-ducks were fast asleep. It was peaceful outside and although it was cold, Toph thought it felt great. She sat contently under an arch, overlooking the turtle-duck pond. The little birds had all left the water when a thin layer of ice had formed.

"Hey there, you look all lonely."

"I'm not lonely, Twinkletoes, I'm just enjoying life."

He came and sat next to her.

"Aren't you cold?"

Toph shrugged, "Only a little."

Before she knew it, Aang put an arm around her.

"Oh… Aang, you're…" she was about to say _"freaking me out,"_ but it felt so nice. It felt right.

"What is it, Toph?"

"You're so… warm."

She could tell he was smiling at her. She snuggled a little closer to him and wrapped her arms around him.

Aang looked up at the arch they were under. His heart almost stopped.

"Aang? What's wrong?" She sounded so concerned.

He smiled at her, "Do you know what?"

"What?"

"We're sitting right under mistletoe."

Toph started blushing fiercely, "OH… Aang… I-I didn't realize… I-I'm sorry, I'll –"

She stood up in a hurry, completely mortified. Toph was about to run back inside, but Aang caught her hand.

"Aang?! What are you -?!"

She shut her eyes as he pressed his lips against hers. That felt so good.

It was times like these that Toph didn't need her earthbending for her to know she was suppose to just relax and enjoy the moment.

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**Katara, Zuko and Lee – Lee's House, the Earth Kingdom**

Lee finished feeding the animals as his father had asked him to. He didn't care how many chores he had to do. All that mattered to him was that his father and his brother had come home safely and in time for Christmas.

As he walked back to the house, he stopped at the door to the sound of a familiar voice.

"So, is Lee around?"

"He'll be back inside any minute now. He just went to feed the animals before it got too cold."

"I'm sure he'll be delighted to see you, Your Majesty."

"Please, Sir, you can just call me Zuko."

Lee's face cracked into a grin.

He hadn't seen Zuko since he had saved him from the bully guards almost a year ago. He had been so angry when he found out who he really was, but after everything Lee had heard since, all the stories of how he helped end the war and how he was the Fire Lord now, Lee really regretted hating him.

He pulled the door open and stepped inside.

The scene that greeted him was his father sitting at the table and his brother and mother standing as they spoke to Zuko and a girl dressed in blue.

"Lee?!" He turned to face him, smiling.

"Zuko!" Lee ran up to him and Zuko spread his arms out to hug the boy. "Zuko, I'm sorry I got mad at you! Please don't hate me! I'm really sorry!"

"Oh, Lee, if I hated you, would I have come here?"

Lee smiled up at his friend.

"You came all the way here to see me on Christmas Eve?"

"It wasn't that hard. Anyway, how else am I supposed to make sure you get your present?"

"Zuko!"

He laughed as he pulled a small package out of his bag. He passed it to Lee and the boy looked at his mother hopefully.

"OH, Mum, can I open it now?! Can I?! Please?!"

She laughed, "Oh, alright then."

Grinning his toothy grin, Lee unwrapped the small gift eagerly. Inside the wrapping paper was a small dagger. Lee took it out of its sheath and read the inscription in its pearl blade.

"Never give up without a fight."

He smiled back up at Zuko.

"My uncle gave me that when I was nine. Take care of it for me and use it well."

Lee nodded and proudly put the dagger in his pocket.

He looked at the other faces in the room, all smiling at him.

"Who's this?"

"Yea, Zuko, aren't you going to introduce me?"

The Fire Lord smiled, "Oh, sorry Katara; a bit caught up in the moment."

Zuko stood up and put an arm around the girl in blue.

"Lee, this is Katara. Katara, this is Lee."

"Nice to meet you, Lee."

"Thanks, nice to meet you too!"

"Well, it's getting late. Lee, you should go to bed now," his mother yawned.

"Oh, but I want to stay up and talk to these guys!"

"No, Lee, Katara and I have to head off now. But don't worry, you'll se me again," Zuko promised.

Lee grinned and went to hug him again.

As Zuko bent down, Lee whispered to him.

"Is Katara your girlfriend?!"

Zuko laughed, "You could say that," he whispered back as he watched Katara play with the red and blue necklace where her mother's use to be. "Merry Christmas, Lee."

**

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**Jun and Iroh – The Palace**

She tied the shirshu up outside.

"Stay here, Nyla. I'll be back soon."

She walked up to the gates and slipped past the guards, completely unnoticed.

Jun didn't always need Nyla to help her track someone down. Sometimes she could rely on her own instincts.

Inside the palace, she let her nose guide her to the source of the sent of ginseng tea.

She peered through the door as the man poured two cups of the fresh tea. But he was the only one in the room, so who was the other cup for?

Jun moved into the doorway, waiting for him to notice her. But the man had his back turned. She waited and soon, she heard him chuckle.

"You know, my dear, I had a feeling I should be expecting some company. Do come in and have a seat."

Jun smiled as Iroh signaled for her to seat herself next to him. He was such a sweet man. Jun came and sat next to Iroh.

"It's been a while. I see Angry Boy found you alright. How have you been?"

Iroh looked softly at her and put and arm around her, running his fingers through her silky black hair.

"I have been splendid!"

**

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**Sokka and Suki – Their Bedroom at the Palace**

"Mmm, Sokka, who knew you could be so good at something like this?" she moaned.

Sokka kissed her ear, "I do have my talents."

She sighed as he worked his fingers over her aching muscles. Having a man who could massage as good as this couldn't possibly be a bad thing, especially on Christmas Eve when she knew he needed to set the mood for what was coming next.

"Suki," he whispered to her, "will you marry me?"

They Kyoshi Warrior turned her head on her pillow so she could look at him, "Yes, Sokka. I will marry you."

He grinned happily and kissed her lips.

"I love you, Sokka."

"I love you too, Suki."

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**Jin – Ba Sing Se**

She carefully sorted everything under the Christmas tree so that she was sure her little brother hadn't already taken and opened a present. But instead of finding one missing, she found one extra. It was for her. But who could have sent this to her? Surely, her mother would have told her when it had come; she always said who had given a present for her.

So Jin asked her mother, but she had never seen it.

Jin asked her little brother, but he had no idea who could have sent it.

Unable to wait any longer, Jin got permission from her mother to open it early and try to figure out who had sent it.

Inside was a small but very fancy tea set and a coupon for _The Jasmine Dragon_ tea shop. She hadn't been to that tea shop yet, but she had heard that it was now being run by Iroh; a retired general from the Fire Nation who had launched a siege on Ba Sing Se when she was a child.

Jin gasped. She didn't need to read the note. She already knew who this was from.

But she read the note anyway.

_Dear Jin,_

_I'm sorry for running off on you, but you didn't know who I really was. I couldn't let you fall in love with a lie. It would never have worked out between us anyway. But I know for a fact that there is another guy waiting for you, somewhere out there. _

_I hope you find him soon._

_Merry Christmas._

_From the boy you knew as Lee._

"So, who's it from?" her little brother urged.

"It… doesn't say, exactly…"

"Huh?"

She couldn't tell them about Lee. She knew he had been a firebender; he had used his powers in front of her when he took her to the fountain, but she had pretended that she wasn't looking and that she didn't work it out. It had been when the war was still going. If she told anyone about it now, how would they react? She had to cover for both of them.

"It's from my secret admirer," she lied.

Jordan started laughing madly.

"Jin has a stalker! Jin has a stalker! Jin has a stalker! Jin has a –"

She stuck a toffee apple in his mouth and ran up to her room laughing. All the while, she thought about Lee. She knew that they weren't meant to be together, but she hoped she would meet him again and find out who he really was.

**

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**Gran-Gran and Pakku – The South Pole**

It was warm in his arms. It was the way it used to be. Kana had believed in second chances, until he got so cocky. He thought they could be happy in an arranged marriage, but that was something she just couldn't handle. So she had run off and she had found happiness some place else. But in the end, it hadn't been the same.

When Pakku came and found her again, what did she have to lose? Maybe this was the answer to things going back to normal.

So she gave him another go, no arrangements this time.

Kana was happy to have found love again and she could tell that this Christmas was going to be better than any other.

**

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**Song – Her House, the Earth Kingdom**

The snow didn't seem so bitter and cold tonight. But as she locked the chickens away, she got the feeling that she was being watched.

She shook it off; who would be watching her?

But before she could disappear inside, there was a rustling of bushes. She prepared for the worst, but her heart leapt with joy as a familiar ostrich-horse trotted up to her.

"Kay!" She flung her arms around its thick neck, "you came back."

She led him to the stable and then looked about the edges of the yard where he had emerged.

"Thank you, Zuko," she whispered knowingly to the wind.

**

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**Zuko and Katara – Flying Back to the Palace on Appa**

"That was pretty sweet of you."

"What was?"

"You know what I mean." Katara turned to face him. "Running around, fixing up everything you did wrong to people."

Zuko smiled, "Thanks for helping me."

"No worries."

The Fire Lord put an arm around her and kissed her on the cheek, "Merry Christmas, Katara."

"Merry Christmas, Zuko."

**

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**Christmas Day – The Palace**

Everyone was happy as they sat around the Christmas tree. They swapped gifts and well wishes and sang their favourite Christmas carols.

But Zuko seemed quieter than usual.

"Zuko?" Katara brought him out of his thoughts.

He faced her, "There's still one thing I need to do."

Katara and Zuko slipped away from Iroh, Jun, Aang, Toph, Sokka and Suki.

Zuko stopped in Azula's room and got something out from under her bed. It was an acoustic guitar, painted red with a streak of blue lightning on the back. He slipped it into its case and grabbed a brush and ink. Last of all, he took what appeared to be a notebook off her desk.

With that, they headed over to the prison.

Katara followed him to where Azula and Ozai were being kept.

"Hey there."

"Hey." Ozai sounded less enthusiastic than Azula.

"What are you up to?" Azula asked.

Zuko smiled and made sure she saw the guitar case.

"My guitar!"

Zuko laughed and passed it to her, "I thought, since it _is _Christmas, you might want something to entertain yourself with."

"Thanks Zuko, Merry Christmas."

He was slightly shocked at those words coming from her lips, but he still smiled back.

"Merry Christmas."

With that, he passed the notebook and ink to his father.

"Don't think I'm stupid; I know your little secret love for writing music."

Ozai looked at him, stunned for a moment and then sighed.

"You know me too well."

"Merry Christmas, Dad."

"Yea, Merry Christmas," he said, glumly.

As they left the prison, Katara held his hand.

"You've changed so much from when I first met you."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

She giggled and pecked his cheek, "Yes, it is, because it let me fall in love with you."

They walked back to the palace, hand in hand and warmth in their hearts.

Christmas is a special time. A time to remember, forgive and forget and a time of happy endings and new beginnings. The palace had a perfect Christmas as well as the rest of the world. There was no more war and everyone was home and with their families and friends to celebrate.

Christmas truly is a special time.

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**Ta Da! Ok, they probably didn't have guitars in the Avatar world, but you'll all get over it. :P Yes, I know Azula was way OC and Ozai probably was too. I guess everyone else was as well *sigh* this was just for fun, so I really don't care. **

**MERRY CHRISTMAS, ONE AND ALL! Please review and have a great day! **

**Lots o' love! A~A~A**


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